U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,670 describes an electrical connector comprising, an insulating housing and electrical contacts in the housing. Electrical terminals on the contacts project from the housing for connection with a circuit board. An alignment member aligns the electrical terminals. Channels in the alignment member receive respective terminals, and urge the terminals into a predetermined and spaced apart alignment. The alignment member also urges the terminals into a common plane. The alignment member is assembled to the housing with a force fit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,334 discloses an electrical connector comprising, an insulating housing, and an alignment member for aligning electrical terminals that project from the housing. Openings through the alignment member receive and align respective terminals. The alignment member and the housing are fabricated as one piece.
Each of the connectors described in the patents is a right angle connector, so named because the circuit board and a mating face on the connector are perpendicular to each other. The terminals on respective contacts emerge from the housing of the connector, and are bent along their lengths to extend downward toward the circuit board.
A vertical mount connector is so named because the mating face on the connector extends parallel to the circuit board and is elevated vertically above the circuit board. The terminals on respective contacts emerge from the housing and extend straight from the housing vertically downward to the circuit board.
Heretofore, before the invention, a housing for a right angle connector was fabricated with a different construction when compared with a housing for a vertical mount connector. The right angle connector used a contact alignment member that differed in construction from a contact alignment member for a vertical mount connector.